Steve and Grace
by montez
Summary: an image flashed in my mind and I had to run with it. Steve knows he is the only other person on the island that Danny completely trust to keep his daughter safe and he prays that he doesn't fail his partner in that trust.
1. Chapter 1

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 1  
Disclaimer: Even Santa couldn't bring me this present-bummer. Still don't own.

_A/N: Okay here I go again, ready or not. I had a image flash in my mind and have tried for days to figure out a story that would work around it. Now I don't know if this will work or not and you won't actually get to read my image until chapter four I am going to try anyway. Okay setting is after Chin's wedding, because Malia makes an appearance, yet Joe and Lori don't-just didn't feel them for this story-sorry. Anyway, hope you guys give this a chance and note it is still a work in progress, but progress is coming steady and I'm typing as fast as I can.-Thanks in advance, Montez_

He'd carried gear that weighed more, far more, over miles of endless missions. Hell he had carried fallen comrade, but the weight he carried now was far more precious than anything he'd ever had in his possession.

The day had started with such promise; it had been a God-awful month for Five-0. Cases seemed to fall back to back in an endless cycle of drugs, violence and death. Thank God it hadn't been any of his team that had suffered a loss, a few cuts and bruises were their only battle wounds, despite Danny's continuous complaints of near misses and what could have been's.

But the case they'd wrapped up two days ago was by far the largest, a drug and arms bust worth millions and the shutting down of one of the biggest outlets for one of the mainland's most violent gangs. Five-0 had netted the main man for the islands and seized enough information for the FBI to make a move on the gang's home base in California. Most all the paperwork had been filed, the DA was thrilled that there were no possible loop-holes for the criminals to slip through, after all Steve did listen to Danny much more than he let the Jersey native know.

The Grand Jury would convene on Monday, to which Steve and Danny needed to appear, to insure an indictment, so until then the Governor had given Five-0 the next three days off. Chin was going to spend some much needed time with Malia. Kono was actually going to meet up with Charlie Fong for some surfing, which had been an endless source of teasing by her teammates, but she knew they were all happy that she had finally acknowledged the young man's obvious crush on her as well as her's on him.

Danny picked Grace up from school on Friday since Rachel had agreed to allow Danny to have his daughter on one of his off weekends. They had spent Friday evening doing whatever Grace wanted to do, then they were meeting up with Steve early Saturday morning for a promised hike to a lookout the former SEAL had convinced Grace they just had to see, it was one that not many tourist knew about and was about a thirty minute hike from the small parking lot.

Of course the perfect weekend would not be allowed to happen as planned when Danny received a phone call just as he was helping Grace with her hair Saturday morning. "That's just great." He grumbled, tossing his phone on the bed.

"What's wrong Danno?" Grace had watched her father's smile fade as he talked on the phone.

"There's been a change of plans Monkey, Danno's got to go and meet with the DA about court on Monday. I need to call Steve and let him know, I'm sorry sweetheart but we might have to put our hike off until the next weekend we have." Danny saw disappointment in his little girls face. This had been the first real weekend they'd had in a couple months. Pulling his daughter into his arms he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Pulling back Grace sat down in the chair, fiddling with the ponytail holder in her hand as her father called his partner.

Steve was busy packing everything they would need for the short hike and small picnic he, Grace and Danny would be having today. He was actually looking forward to today, it had been a while since he'd gotten Danny out on a hike, actually the last time had ended up with Steve getting a broken arm and a mild concussion after falling about fifteen feet. McGarrett had actually been surprised his partner had agreed to go along and bring Grace no less, but then Steve had promised no rock climbing this time around.

He'd just come back in from throwing his backpack in the truck when his phone rang, smiling at Danny's name on the caller ID Steve answered. "I'm on my way now partner."

"Kind of been a change in plans." Danny started as he watched his daughter now playing with the zipper on her backpack she'd so proudly packed with all the stuff Steve had told her she would need.

Pausing on the porch, pulling the door closed Steve spoke again, "What's wrong? Grace okay?" asking while he made his way toward the truck.

"Grace is fine, disappointed but fine. No I got a call from the DA's office, they want me to come by and go over some things for Monday so we are gonna have to cancel the hike for another time." Danny had taken a seat at the table, still watching his little girl. "I'm gonna have to call Rachel."

Putting the truck in gear Steve pulled out, making his way toward his friend's place. "You've got to be kidding; the DA wants you in on a Saturday? Do they need me to come in too?"

"They didn't say, but I'd assume if they needed you they'd have called by now." Danny replied.

"Look I'll be at your place in ten; maybe we can figure something out so you don't have to take Grace back to Rachel early." Steve really didn't give Danny time to answer, knowing his friend would try to talk him out of coming over, but things between Danny and Rachel were still rocky with the whole baby and her getting back with Stan deal and this had been the first long weekend Danny and Grace had had for a while.

Pulling into the lot and parking next to the Camaro Steve saw Danny's door open and Grace race across the parking lot toward him, "Uncle Steve!" she shouted, launching herself at him.

"Hey Gracie…" Steve smiled, returning the hug he was getting from the little girl, "I think you've grown a foot since I saw you last." It had been a few weeks since Steve had actually seen Grace and each time he did it did seem as if the little girl was growing up so fast, he couldn't help the silent chuckle when he thought about how it wouldn't be long before she caught in height with her father, but he valued his life enough to not point out that little fact.

Steve watched as her face fell while they made their way back toward Danny's apartment. "Danno says we have to put off our hike and I packed my backpack just like you told me."

Danny met his partner at the door, a slightly pissed look on his face at having to lose time with his daughter again. "Well maybe we can work something out." McGarrett smiled, patting his partner's shoulder upon entering. "You haven't called Rachel yet have you?" Steve looked at Williams.

"Not yet…wait…you've got that look in your eyes like you have a plan that you just know I'm not going to like. What are you up to?" Danny watched Steve stop at the table, picking up Grace's backpack, appearing to inspect the young girls packing job.

"I was thinking…" McGarrett started before Danny interrupted him.

"Oh no, you were thinking, this never-ever ends well. It usually ends with gunfire and possibly small explosions." Danny animated each word with characteristic hand gestures, causing Steve to huff and Grace to giggle.

"That's not true, this last time wasn't my plan it was yours and that explosion wasn't my fault." Steve looked at Grace as if needing to explain himself, "The bad guy forgot about the crate of grenades he ducked behind…" Then he looked back at Danny, "And how was I suppose to know that is what was in them?"

Grace was full on laughing now, she had long ago learned how her Danno and Uncle Steve talked to each other and most of their conversations somehow always seemed to be funny. Both men looked at the chuckling child, "Okay fine, I'll give that last explosion wasn't your fault…" Danny smiled.

"Okay…" Steve clapped his hands together, "Now do you want to hear what I was thinking or do you have something else you'd like to try and blame me for?" The Navy man folded his arms across his chest, eyeing his partner.

"No, go ahead." Danny gestured with his hands, taking a seat he pulled Grace into his lap.

"I was thinking that Grace and I could go ahead on the hike and you could give us a call when you are finished with the DA then we could meet up for a late lunch or dinner, depending on the time." Steve smiled slightly, liking his idea, hoping his partner did too.

Grace's eyes lit up at the thought of getting to go on the hike, though she didn't really like doing without her father, she'd rather spend the day with her Uncle Steve and be with Danno tonight than having to return home two days early. "Please Danno…" She turned and begged, practically bouncing.

"I don't know…" Danny looked at his little girl, knowing deep down he couldn't deny her much and he really hated the idea of taking her back home early, at least this way he would have her this evening and still salvage tomorrow. "Can I trust Steve to keep you safe?" Danny glanced toward his friend with a joking expression. If the blond man was totally honest there is no one else on the planet that he knew he could completely trust to protect his daughter and keep her safe than his partner.

"Yes, yes, yes…" Grace bounced, "Uncle Steve will keep me safe, right Uncle Steve?" The young girl whirled around and grabbed Steve's arm, shaking it slightly.

McGarrett knelt down, "You know I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." Steve looked toward his friend who he knew already knew that.

Grace turned back toward her father, "See Danno, please…"

"Okay, you can go." Danny huffed acting put off, but not really.

"Yeah!" Grace yelled, throwing her arms around her father, "Thank you Danno."

Steve smiled, clapping his hands together, "Okay then, we're burning daylight here, let's get our gear and move out." McGarrett held out Grace's backpack for her to take.

"This is not the Army my friend; remember that, no forced marches through some Godforsaken jungle, you promised the hike was an easy one." Danny walked with his daughter out the door, toward Steve's truck.

"It's the Navy Danny." Steve's automatic response to the inside joke slipping from his lips. "And it is a easy hike; I'll wait a bit on the forced marches." He smiled as Danny strapped Grace in the cab.

"You do that." Williams turned his attention to his daughter, "Now listen Monkey, you listen to Steve, do what he says understand." Grace nodded, "I'll call you all as soon as I'm done."

"Okay Danno." She leaned in and hugged her dad.

"Danno loves you Monkey." Danny kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too." She smiled as Danny shut the door.

"Steve…" Danny looked toward his partner, knowing the other man understood the meaning behind that one word.

"We'll be fine, see you in a few hours." Steve put the truck in gear, pulling out of the parking lot.

Danny watched until the blue truck was out of sight before climbing into the Camaro, he never saw the dark SUV that fell into traffic behind Steve's Silverado, nor the non-descript grey sedan that pulled out behind him a few blocks from his apartment complex.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 2  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

_A/N: Wow, the reviews and alert you guys gave my first chapter were awesome-thank you all so very much. And just because you all are totally awesome I decided to go ahead a post another chapter tonight. It's still a work in progress, but it's progressing really well and I hope to have it totally done by tonight or tomorrow, but will post one or two chapters a day (hopefully). Again, thank you all for your support-Montez_

Danny pulled the Camaro into the Palace parking lot; the DA's office was located on the first floor, Five-0's on the second. "Morning Detective Williams", Danny turned to see Duke waving at him from a few cars over.

"Hey, Duke." The older man approached Danny, exchanging handshakes.

"What's got you here this morning; I thought Five-0 was off this weekend." Duke asked, walking with Danny toward the front doors since HPD had a small office in the front lobby while HPD's main office was a block away.

"Yea, we did, but I got a call from the DA's office, they wanted to see me about our bust the other day." The two men paused just as they neared the couple steps that led to the glass doors.

"That was a big one, got the whole island talking, even heard a few grumblings about threats against you and Commander McGarrett." Duke watched Williams a minute.

"Well I guess that means we're doing something right then." Danny chuckled as he turned to head up the stairs.

Just as he reached for the door the loud revving of a car engine had him and the older man turning, a gray sedan tore into the parking lot in front of the Palace, "DUKE GET DOWN!" Danny yelled as he pushed the older man to the ground, going for his weapon while rolling, coming to his knees just as the front doors shattered into a spray of glass.

The drive by had been quick but violent, the indiscernible amount of bullets that embedded themselves in the front of the historic building was more than anyone would readily account for at the moment. An eerie silence settled for a minute as the echo of the gunshots faded, it was then sirens from down the street sounded as Duke pushed himself up, his old body reeling from the hard impact with ground. He was on his radio before he made it to his feet; glancing toward the shattered doors while other officers from inside flooded the sidewalk to see what had happened.

It was then the older man realized he hadn't heard Detective Williams speak. Turning he say the younger man standing a few feet away, his gun still in hand, watching the direction the car had disappeared. "Detective Williams?"

Danny's mind was still trying to catch up with what had just happened, hearing the car then seeing it coming into the lot he knew what was coming, it wasn't the first drive by he'd been involved in. He remembered pushing Duke to the ground then coming up, all he saw through tinted windows was the muzzles of the automatics as they peeked out, flashing as the bullets left the barrels. He'd returned fire, the sparks of his own bullets pinging the side of the sedan; he'd ran a few feet, desperate to get the license plate number before losing sight of the vehicle.

"PNQ-862" Danny said when he heard Duke's voice behind him.

"What?" The older man wasn't sure he heard the Detective correctly.

Taking a short breath Williams turned, barely noticing more officers arriving from down the street; his focus was on Duke, "License number, PNQ-862". Danny furrowed his forehead a minute, looking at Duke, "You okay?"

Duke had just relayed the plate number; his eyes not leaving Danny, the younger man seemed off. The older cop knew even the most experienced officers could be rattled by such unexpected explosions of violence like drive by's but this was different, "I'm fine…" Duke seemed hesitant, "Are you okay?" He took a step forward, not liking the pale gaze that met his.

It was then that Danny's eyes dropped down, his breath hitching painfully when he put his left hand against his side, pulling it back at the warmth that met his fingers. Looking up at Duke, he noticed the older man step forward as he felt his legs give out, "Don't think so."

The older officer lunged forward, catching Danny when he dropped, "I got an officer down!" Duke yelled hearing several calls going out for an ambulance. "Detective Williams, can you hear me?"

Getting Danny laid on the ground was made easier with several more officers offering assistance, Duke noted the injured officers eyes were closed, his breathing labored. "Detective Williams?" the older man shaking the younger's shoulder slightly.

Pain-filled blue eyes opened, meeting dark, concerned ones, "You okay?" Danny whispered.

"I'm fine Detective; it's you I'm worried about." Duke heard the ambulance in the distance.

Danny's eyes widened, looking around, trying to rise up, "Where's Steve?"

Duke knew the men were close, and it was rare for one of them to be at the Palace without the other, "He's not here, you came in alone, remember?"

Williams laid back, then his mind jumped again; panic surging, "Grace? Where's Grace?" He remembered having his daughter with him that morning, but his mind was becoming hazy.

"Your daughter's not here, it's okay, you need to relax, helps almost here." Duke tried to reassure the younger man.

Pinching his eyes closed a minute, another sharp breath accenting the pain that flashed through his body. Then something seemed to clink in his mind, "With Steve…Grace's with Steve…" Danny reached up, wrapping his hand around Duke's wrist as the older man's hand stayed pressed against the bleeding wound in Danny's side, "Call Steve…"

"I'll take care of it, okay, helps here." Duke gave the younger man's hand a quick squeeze just before moving back allowing the paramedics to do their job.

505050505050505050

The drive had been a short one, only about twenty minutes. Once reaching the parking lot Steve noticed they were the only vehicle there, "Looks like we've got the place to ourselves today Gracie."

"Tell me about it again Uncle Steve; you said you could see forever." Grace smiled at her Uncle Steve, taking her backpack as he pulled his own out. Helping her adjust the straps so the weight set evenly across her back he donned his own, then turned toward the trail.

"It's beautiful Grace, the cliff drops straight down into the ocean, you can see Pearl in the distance to your right and to your left is nothing but blue water." Steve smiled at the little girl when she took his hand.

"I wish Danno could have come, but we can bring him back right?" Grace looked up at Steve, he could see the sadness her father's absence was causing, but he tried to make the best of it.

"Of course we can, anytime you want and you can take lots of pictures for him. You did bring your camera right?" He paused, giving the smaller girl a mock-serious look.

She giggled at that, then nodded her head, ponytail bobbing. "Yes."

Patting her on the shoulder he smiled, "Good girl, the most successful missions require the right equipment."

"And you've had a bunch of successful missions right Uncle Steve?" Grace knew her father's partner was a former Navy SEAL, though she didn't fully understand what a SEAL was, her father had tried to explain that it meant that Steve was on of the best soldiers in the military. He had tried to explain to her that just because Steve was Navy didn't mean he was always on boats, he'd told her they would send him places far away from water, so in her child-like mind she knew he had to be really good if a SEAL wasn't always near water.

Steve again smiled at Grace, "Yes I have Gracie."

Her young face became serious a second, her next question innocent to her ears, but heartbreaking to his, "Did you have any that weren't successful?"

Just like with her father, it was hard to believe the man she was with could ever mess anything up. She'd heard her father talk about some of the things the partners had done, how close things would be, but Danny would always reassure her that with Steve watching his back everything was okay.

Steve's eyes got a far away look, his mind no doubt replaying what he had perceived as failures throughout his career. He knew all to well that no matter how good a plan was, no matter how prepared you were, no matter if every piece of equipment was exactly what you needed, things could go to hell in a hand basket in a heartbeat. "A few." He said softly.

Grace stopped walking, pulling on Steve's hand. Pausing he looked down at her questioningly, then knelt beside her, "Grace?"

Before he realized it she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed, "its okay Uncle Steve, everybody makes mistakes."

His breath shuttered slightly, not realizing just how much those three words and the feel of a child's hug could banish the dark thoughts that had taken over his mind at the innocent question. Hugging her back, he pulled his head back, looking at the dark brown eyes, "Thanks Gracie, sometimes I forget that."

She leaned forward again, placing a small kiss on Steve's cheek. "Its okay, Danno says my hugs make everything all better."

Steve stood, chuckling slightly, "And I believe your Danno is completely right, I feel much better now." He retook the small girls hand and started walking again, "Now let's get back to our hike."

Silently they started back up the trail, to far from the parking lot to hear the SUV that pulled in and parked next to the Silverado, nor the five men that piled out, splitting off from one another as they slowly started to make their way through the foliage that surrounded the path to the lookout and their target.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 3  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

To Steve's surprise Grace was very good at hiking, he never figured she'd really like it, since Danny really wasn't much for the outdoors and the couple times he'd ever dealt with Rachel she didn't seem the hiking type either. But somehow he should have known, after all Kono had told him how the young girl had really taken to her surfing lessons, even with Danny on the beach trying to shout out warnings every time he thought a wave was too big for his little girl to handle.

The young girl had kept pace with him, though he'd slowed down considerably from his normal strides, they had made it to the lookout in about twenty-five minutes. Steve secretly pulled his phone out to snap a picture of Grace's face when she saw the view, the complete look of awe on her face nearly took his breath. There was a part of him that could completely understand Danny's devotion to his daughter, if for nothing else then to want to see the wonder that filled her face as she experienced something she never had before.

Knelling down beside her he tugged her ponytail, "So what do you think?"

"Wow, this is amazing, you really can see forever." The wonderment in her voice caused Steve's grin to grow larger. "Danno will never believe this." She whispered, almost as if she was observing something sacred.

"And see…" Steve picked the little girl up, holding her tight he stepped closer to the small rail that ran along the paved platform, "That's a straight drop into the water." He leaned slightly so she could just barely see over the cliff.

It was another whispered, "Wow", that meet his ears. She turned her big brown eyes toward him, "How did you find this place?"

Steve sat her back down as he looked out across the water, "My mom brought me here when I was a kid, said she found it one day after a really bad day at work and she'd gone driving around. She said she liked how peaceful it was." Another silent moment passed, he found himself lost in the memories of coming here with his mother all those years ago. He was brought back to the present when he felt Grace lean into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, giving him comfort, in the only way a child could, for what he had lost so long ago. Clearing his throat Steve spoke again, "Okay, how about you get a few picture's and I'll set up our picnic."

Grace dropped her backpack and dug her camera out of the side pocket. "Okay" she smiled happily and started snapping pictures.

Making his way to one of the few picnic tables that dotted the area, Steve placed his pack down and went to pull out the zip lock bags of snacks he'd brought. Glancing to make sure Grace was still safely behind the railing he looked back toward the wooded area that surrounded the lookout. He called it years of training and missions where you had to relay on that gut feeling or the hairs on the back of your head to alert you to possible dangers, but at that moment something didn't seem right.

He turned his head quickly when he thought he heard movement in the brush, watching the area intently he unzipped the front pocket of his pack, pulling out his gun. "Grace…" Steve took a deep breath, he didn't want to scare the little girl if it was nothing but a wild boar in the underbrush, but even those were extremely dangerous. "I need you to come over here a minute." He didn't turn to face her, his eyes continuously scanning the foliage.

Hearing her voice behind him, he tried to hide the fact he had his gun in hand, "Is the picnic set up?" She asked.

It was then he saw movement, he had just enough time to turn his body, grab the smaller girl and flip the picnic table on its side before two shots rang out, chipping the edges of the wooden barricade. A small scream escaped Grace's lips as Steve kept his hand over her head, his back to the table in a desperate attempt to protect her, "Stay down Grace." Steve whispered as he turned slowly, trying to get a look at their attacker. This time when he looked, shots rang from another direction, "Damn it." He whispered, ducking back down. Grace was curled into a ball on the ground next to him.

"Uncle Steve?" He could hear the fear in her voice.

"It's okay Grace." McGarrett wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do, he had at least two shooters. If it had just been him he had no doubt he could take them out, but his main concern was Grace's safety. He pulled his phone from his pocked, hitting number two and handing it to the small child. "When your dad picks up tell him where we are and what's happening, I need to see if I can get my pack, okay Grace…I need you to do this, can you do it?"

When Steve had flipped the table, his backpack landed on the other side, he had a few supplies in there that he never hiked without, mostly his sat phone and climbing gear. Sometimes cell service was spotty and since his accident when he and Danny were out he kept a sat phone in his pack. Peeking around the table Steve saw movement, fired two quick shots in that direction before reaching out and snagging his pack, three shots embedded in the table. He knew he was lucky they hadn't come through the table and he knew they couldn't stay where they were; he needed to move, to get Grace to safety.

"Danno's not answering." Grace's trembling voice pulled his focus back to her, the tears on her face twisting his gut even more, something was wrong, Danny would answer no matter what, especially since he knew Steve had Grace.

"Call number three, it's Chin…" Steve directed as he pulled his climbing gear out, not really sure what he was going to do, not liking the idea of what might be their only way out but now that was seemingly like the only way since it appeared that at least three shooters had their way back to the parking lot blocked.

Again it was Grace's scared voice that pulled his attention, "Uncle Chin…"

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The weekend had held such promise; he was finally going to get to spend some time with Malia. Kono was finally realizing just how much Charlie had been trying to get her attention and Chin knew Danny had been looking forward to finally getting a long weekend with his daughter. The Saturday morning was turning out to be nearly perfect, he was fixing Malia breakfast and they were planning on going for a picnic at the spot he'd asked her to marry him a second time.

All that changed when his phone rang on the counter, his brow furrowing as Duke's name flashed on the screen. "Hey Duke."

"Chin, you need to get down here to Queen's, Detective Williams was just brought in, gunshot wound to his right side." Duke didn't waste any time getting the information across.

However, Chin's mind seemed to be taking a minute to process it, "What? He's suppose to have Grace today, he was meeting Steve, where are they?" Kelly was shutting the stove off, making his way toward the bedroom to get dressed, Malia meeting him in the hallway.

"I don't know about Commander McGarrett, before he passed out Detective Williams said his daughter was with the Commander, but he was at the Palace by himself, said that he'd gotten a call from the DA to meet, but I just got a call and the DA never called him. There was a drive by as we were entering the Palace." Duke was watching from the doorway of the trauma room, he had ridden with Danny to the hospital.

"Okay Duke, I'm on my way. Do we have any idea what's going on?" Chin had put the phone on speaker as he pulled his jean's on, Malia dressing quickly, she was going to the hospital with him, she could get access to Danny where the other's couldn't.

"He got the plate number but it was reported stolen this morning, I told him about threats that have been going around since that big bust you guys made a few days back." The older man answered.

"Have you tried calling Steve?" Chin knew the older man usually called him first since they'd been friends on the force during Chin's first stint in HPD and Duke had remained his friend even through the hell storm IA had caused that ended Kelly's career the first time around.

"Figured you'd want to do that." Duke watched as the doctor's moved quickly around Danny, then moved back as the gurney was wheeled from the room toward the elevators.

"I'll be there in ten minutes Duke, keep me posted." Without waiting for a response Chin hung up looking at Malia as they made their way toward his vehicle. "Danny was shot in a drive by at the Palace, I need to call Steve." Just as he closed the car door, his phone rang again, McGarrett's name flashing on the screen. "Steve…I was…"

He was cut off by a small terrified voice, "Uncle Chin…"

Malia watched Chin's eyes go wide, "Grace…where are you? Where's Steve?" There was faint movement in the background, but a sharp report through the phone caused Chin to pale, he knew that sound, it was the sound of gunfire. "Grace!"

There was more rustling then Steve's voice sounded through the speaker, "Chin…we're at the Kalana Lookout, I've got at least three shooters. I can't reach Danny and I can't get us back to the truck…" Steve's voice was cut off by more gunfire and Chin could hear Grace's scream in the background.

"Malia, call HPD, get them up there now." Chin looked at his wife who was quickly dialing the numbers. "Steve!"

Kelly heard closer shots, no doubt Steve's return fire. "Chin, get someone up here now, I'm almost out of ammo and we don't have good cover. Get the Coast Guard out here too; we might have to go into the water."

Chin looked at the phone, again trying to process what was being spoken through it, "What? Steve that's…" he didn't get the chance to finish his comment about it being a nearly a fifty foot drop from that cliff and if Steve was really contemplating that possibility then there really was no other way out for the younger man or the little girl with him.

"I know Chin, but I might not have a choice, just get them out here." before Chin could say another word he heard more gunfire and a muffled curse before the line went dead.

"HPD is on there way up there, is he really thinking of going over the cliff? With Grace?" Malia had been to that lookout a few times and knew how high it was.

"I don't know. Call Kono, tell her to get to Queen's, we need to head toward the lookout." Chin pulled out of the driveway, his finger's dialing the number to the Coast Guard Station twenty miles down the coast from the lookout, praying Steve really didn't have to make that jump, hoping HPD would reach them in time.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 4  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

_A/N: Okay, first off, WOW again. You guys are awesome, so many reviews and alert-just WOW! Second, do you guys remember that mental image I mentioned in the A/N of the first chapter, well here it comes. I really hope the intensity of the moment comes across in the ready as it did when that little snapshot flashed in my mind. Oh and yes my mind can be a very scary place sometimes.-Montez_

Steve hoped Chin understood what he had been telling him, he needed help now. He dropped the phone as a piece of the wooden table caught the side of his face when the bullet impacted it, the sting had startled him a minute before he returned fire. He looked at Grace who was still curled up small on the ground next him, but whose eyes were wide with fear watching him.

He wasn't joking when he told Chin they might have to go in the water. Steve knew just how high the drop was, and he knew just how dangerous that jump could be in the best of circumstances, but right now it was better odds of them making that jump successfully than facing an unknown number of shooter with only a few more shots of his own left.

"Grace, I need you to pull the rope out of my pack and wrap it around yourself several times okay, can you do that?" Wordlessly the little girl pulled the pack to her, pulling out the rope she started to wrap it around herself while Steve continued to shot looks around their barricade.

"I got it." She whispered, pulling on his shirt. Steve knew they only had a couple minutes, he could hear the men moving closer through the foliage. He quickly slipped his harness on and started to thread the end of the ropes through the various loops, jerking them to make sure they were secure.

"Okay Grace, I know you're scared, but I need you to be really brave for me. We are going to have to go into the water…" Her eyes grew huge as she looked at him then toward the cliff he'd shown her.

"Uncle Steve…" Tears again fell from her eyes.

"I know it's scary, but I don't have any bullet's left and I can't get us back to the truck, okay. Now I know you are a good swimmer, Danno and Kono have told me all about it and I'm a pretty good swimmer too, so as long as you listen and don't panic we will be okay, can you do that for me?" He was holding her face close to his, could see the fear in her eyes, feel it in her shaking body, but beneath all that he saw an unwavering trust that nearly took his breath in that moment when she nodded.

Steve looked toward the rocky outcropping just a few feet to the right of the lookout platform, he knew that was his best shot of getting a good jump out away from the rocks, but he also knew that put him out in the open for the few seconds it would take him to cross the open ground. "Okay Gracie, when I stand up I need you to wrap your legs around me real tight, hold onto my neck as tight as you can and bury your head right here." He patted his chest, "And close your eyes, as soon as you feel us falling take a really deep breath and hold it, okay."

Her fearful face nodded again, her ponytail swinging with the motions. "Okay" she whispered.

Taking a deep breath, he knew he needed to move, but he had one last thing he needed to tell her, "Listen to me Grace, I'm gonna do my best to get us out of this okay sweetheart, but you need to remember that your Danno loves you very much and I love you, okay."

"I love you too Uncle Steve." She said softly as he leaned in and kissed her forehead, silently praying to whatever God was listening that he would get this little girl through this mess alive.

Giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, Steve tried to shutdown all other thought but getting them safely into the water, "Hold on Gracie, here we go!"

Steve grabbed her up, feeling her legs and arms encircle him, her small head pressed tightly into his chest, Steve ran. He had carried gear that weighed more than the little girl in his arms, had jumped into stormy seas with said gear. Had carried wounded comrades to safety, but he knew what he carried against his body at this moment was far more precious than anything he had ever carried in his life.

He heard the gunshots that came in their direction, but his focus was the rocks ahead. He could faintly hear the men shouting as they cleared the tree line, but his focus was the child in his arms as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, his hand holding her head close to his chest, feeling her small body take in a deep breath as his feet cleared the rocky ledge and gravity pulled them downward. At the last moment he took in a deep breath of his own, his legs held straight, his body rigid as he tried to protect the child in his arms as much as possible once their body's hit the churning surface of the Pacific Ocean as it swallowing them in its depths.

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Fifteen minutes, it had been nearly thirty minutes since Chin had received that phone call from Duke, which was quickly followed by a phone call from a terrified sounding Grace Williams. It had been almost twenty minutes since that phone call had gone silent, the sound of gunfire and a muffled curse before nothing.

He glanced at his wife in the seat beside him, he loved her for many reason's, but the one right now was her patience. She had called HPD to get them to the lookout while Chin had been on the phone with Steve. She had called Kono to get to the hospital to be with Danny, who had been shot in a drive by that may or may not be related to their latest case. And it was that thought that plagued his mind as he sped toward the lookout he had just directed the Coast Guard to, fearful that Steve indeed had to make that terrible decision to make a potentially deadly jump instead of facing an equally deadly decision to face gunman, unarmed and with a child at his side.

He could see HPD cruisers filling the parking lot near the lookout. When he exited his truck he could hear the large blades of the Coast Guard helicopter he knew without a doubt was coming in to hover over the cliff face. But what surprised him was the fact HPD had three men in custody and EMT's were working on two others. "Have you found Commander McGarrett?" Chin called out as he approached a uniform that was standing next to Steve's Silverado.

The young officer looked at him, then motioned him toward the trail, "We found two backpacks, one that appears to be the Commanders, the other is a child's backpack at the lookout along with an overturned picnic table with obvious signs that a firefight took place."

"He had Detective Williams daughter Grace with him, are there any signs of them?" Chin ran toward the lookout, Malia behind, the cop keeping pace.

"No sir, when we got here we started taking fire from those men, we were able to drop two, the other's reluctantly surrendered. We found some blood by the picnic table and what appears to be more…" They had reached the lookout; several officers were searching the woods while the helicopter hovered over the water, no doubt searching. "Here." The younger man stopped, pointing to a spot just feet from the outcrop of rocks.

Chin could see footprints in the loose dirt, could see the deep impression that told him the person they belonged to was running. He knew now, without a doubt they were Steve's prints and he could only assume his friend had Grace in his arms when he jumped. "Coast Guard have anything yet?"

The officer with him shook his head, looking sadly at Kelly, "Sir, if they went off here, Coast Guard might not find anything for days." Nobody like the thought of losing a fellow officer, despite Five-0's dislike among some in HPD, they were still law enforcement and the fact a child was also caught up in this ordeal just added to the distraught feelings.

Chin looked down at the churning ocean, feeling the spray the chopper was kicking up. He felt Malia come up next to him, glancing toward her his gaze returned to the water, "He wouldn't have gone in if he didn't think they could make it." She just barely heard him over the sound of the helicopter.

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No matter how skilled a diver, impact into water could still jar the body and Steve felt the impact fully. As the water covered their heads, he felt the arms and legs around him tighten. He needed to wait a moment until his body stopped the downward motions before he could kick toward the surface, he could feel the water pulling at his body, the current trying to dislodge the cargo that was held against him, but he fought.

He fought the current that wanted to keep them down as wave after wave crashed against the rocky cliff face they were only twenty feet from. He fought to propel them further away before they broke the surface where a wave could catch them and throw them back into the rocks.

When his head finally broke through the watery barrier that separated them from the life giving air they needed, he inhaled deeply, feeling the small body against him doing the same, before a round of coughing wracked Grace's body. "Gracie!" He yelled over the sound of the surf, he could feel her coughing, which meant she was breathing.

Steve shifted his body and started to move them toward more open water, away from the cliff. If he could get them a few more yards out treading would be easier, but it was an awkward swim with the little girl strapped to the front of him. "Grace, can you hear me?" The coughing had subsided, but the little girl had barely moved.

"Uncle Steve…" The whispered voice filled him with relief, they were both alive.

"I've got you sweetheart, listen I need to get us further out, so hold on okay." He kept his strong strokes up as he felt her nod against him, her head back now as he took a minute to look down into the brown eye's looking at him. "You did great, does everything feel okay? Do you hurt anywhere?" They had finally reached a calmer area and Steve could get a good look at the little girl.

"Don't think so…" She whispered, her voice calmer than he expected giving the situation, he was sure it was probably shock.

"Okay, we just need to hold on a bit, Chin called the Coast Guard…" God he hoped Chin understood and called the Coast Guard. "And they should be here anytime now okay?"

Another whispered okay came from the girl before him. "Listen Gracie, to make it easier, I need you to move your arms and legs, I'm going to loosen the ropes a little and I need you to try and turn around and put your back against me, that way I can try and float and keep you out of the water. Think you can do that for me?" Steve felt her arms and legs move as he reached toward the buckle on his harness that he'd wrapped the rope around.

When he saw her arms come away from him something caught his eye that nearly stole his breath. "Gracie…are you hurt?"

The little girl looked at him before looking down at herself, she shook her head slightly, "I don't think so, nothing hurts." it was then her eyes grew wide as they met his, "Uncle Steve…"

He looked down at where her small hand was pointing, he could finally see where the blood in the water between them was coming from, it was from the growing pool near his right shoulder. That is when the pain hit him. Just like when you fall down and scrap your knee, it doesn't really hurt until you see the wound, the blood, that's when you cry out in pain, that's when it becomes real. In that moment Grace watched her Uncle Steve pale, his breathing becoming quick as his eyes pinched closed in pain. "Uncle Steve!"

The pain blinded him a moment and he hated himself for that weakness, especially since he needed to focus on Grace, keep Grace safe. It was her panicked voice that made him realize he'd closed his eyes, his breathing now harsh. "It's okay Gracie," He gritted out between clinched teeth. "Just give me a minute, finish turning so I can tighten the rope again." He needed a task to focus on and the one before him was far more important than any pain his body was feeling. He was trained to push past it, finish the mission ahead and this was a mission he refused to fail at.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 5  
Disclaimer: See chapter one.

_A/N: Thanks again for the overwhelming positive responses, this story has morphed into something far beyond the orignal vision and crazy enough the mental images keep coming with this adventure, so hope you are all strapped in for the ride-it's gonna get rough.-Thanks again, Montez_

Kono and Charlie raced through the emergency room door, "Detective Danny Williams?" She flashed her badge at the nurse behind the counter, who quickly started typing.

"Kono…" She turned at the sound of her name; her eye's landing on Duke.

"Where is he Duke? Malia said he was shot, what happened?" Kono stopped in front of the older man, Charlie a few steps behind her.

The older man motioned toward the elevators, "They took him up to surgery, the doctor down here said it didn't look too bad, but he lost a far amount of blood, they don't think it hit anything vital, but they wanted to make sure." Stepping onto the elevator, Duke hit number three to take them to the OR waiting room.

"What the hell happened? He was supposed to have Grace this weekend and where is Steve?" Malia didn't go into details, just that Chin needed her to get to the hospital because Danny'd been shot.

"There was a drive by at the Palace this morning, Detective Williams said he was there to see the DA, that he'd gotten a phone call, but according to the DA no one called him. We are thinking it was a set up and might be tied to that case you all had a couple days ago. As far as Commander McGarrett all I know is he is suppose to have Grace, but we haven't gotten a hold of him yet." The elevator doors opened and the three people exited to find a few more officers on the floor, two standing near the doors that led to the operating theater.

"Nobody's heard from Steve?" Duke shook his head. Kono turned and looked at Charlie, "Something's wrong if they can't get a hold of Steve, I'm calling Chin."

Just as Kono was pulling out her phone, it rang, her cousin's name flashing at her, "Chin, what's going on? Do you have Steve and Grace?"

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Chin watched the chopper move out some, away from the cliff face to the calmer water several yards away. He stood watching, praying that something hadn't happened when they hit the water. "You need to call Kono." Malia said.

"I know…" Kelly's heart was aching at the thought that the Coast Guard might have to recover the bodies of his friend and the daughter of his other friend. Shaking his head slightly, trying to rid it of the painful images, he needed to believe they were okay. Leaning over, kissing Malia's forehead he pulled his phone out, pushing number three, waiting for his cousin to answer.

"Chin, what's going on? Do you have Steve and Grace?" He could hear the worry in her voice, even over the loud noise of the helicopter nearby. "Chin?"

The older man moved away from the cliff, closer to the trees, his hand rubbing his forehead, "We haven't found them yet." Kelly knew Kono didn't have the whole story, he knew she didn't know they were now looking for Steve and Grace off of a nearly fifty foot cliff.

"What do you mean you haven't found them? Chin what's wrong, where are they?" Charlie moved forward as he heard the distress in Kono's voice, a hand on her shoulder offering meager support.

Taking a deep breath, Chin looked back toward the still hovering chopper. "Coast Guard is searching off Kahala Lookout." He waited a minute to see if his words would click and she would understand how grave the situation was.

"Kahala Lookout? Why would they…" A gut-wrenching realization finally hit her, her knees going weak as she sat heavily in a nearby chair. "Chin…"

"There's evidence of a shootout, when I talked to Steve he said he was running out of ammo and there were at least two shooters. Turned out to be five, he said he thought it might be the only way out, he was running out of time." Malia was still nearby, but giving him space.

"Could they survive that?" Kono hated asking that question, but what was she suppose to do if she got to see Danny before Steve and Grace were found. God she knew there was no way she would be able to tell Danny something happened to his daughter.

"I don't think he would have risked it if he didn't think he could make it." Chin needed to stay positive; he would not dwell on the images that wanted to fill his mind, images of Steve and Grace's bodies being pulled from the water.

Chin noticed the Coast Guard chopper move out a little further, he needed to get in contact with them, see what was going on. "Look Kono I'll call you as soon as I can. Do you know how Danny's doing?"

"Duke said the doctor's don't think there was much damage, blood loss being a problem. He's in surgery so they can double check." Kono replied, still trying to get her head around the fact Steve and Grace had gone off the lookout.

"Call when you know more, I have to go." Chin said before hanging up and making his way back to the young officer that had come up from the parking lot with him. "Do you have radio contact with that chopper?"

The younger man pointed to a Coast Guard captain that had been dropped off at the point to help coordinate with HPD. "I'm Lt. Kelly, Five-0, is there any word yet?" Chin spoke as he neared the man.

The captain turned, lowering the binoculars he'd been using. "I'm Captain Reynolds. We haven't found anything yet, but the current in and out of this area is kind of strong, if Lt. Commander McGarrett didn't get pushed back into the rocks, then he may have been pulled out into more open water, that's why we're moving out some." The captain looked at Kelly. "I understand there is reason to believe he has a child with him."

"Yes, Detective Williams daughter, Grace. Danny was shot this morning outside our headquarters, I'm still not sure why Grace was with Steve, but they had all planned this hike together." Chin replied as he watched the hovering aircraft.

"Do you know how long they've possibly been in the water?" Captain Reynolds asked, one ear to the radio in his hand.

Chin looked at his watch, "Maybe forty-five minutes, I was on the phone with him just before, he said it was the only way he thought he could get away from the shooters, he said he was running out of ammo. Look I know it might seem impossible for someone to make it through this, but Steve's Navy and he would do anything to protect Grace, even if it meant making a seemingly impossible jump."

Captain Reynolds glanced toward Chin, "I know who Lt. Commander McGarrett is and the only reason we are taking our time at this and still calling it a rescue and not recovery is I know his reputation." the captain was distracted by a call on the radio, "Captain, we've spotted a body in the water, moving in closer to investigate." Both Chin and Captain Reynolds watched as the chopper dipped closer to the water nearly a half-mile off shore.

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"You okay Gracie?" Steve asked the quiet girl. Grace had gotten turned around, her back to his chest now. Steve had focused past the pain that now radiated out across his chest, he had been floating on his back, doing his best to keep Grace's small body out of the water, she hardly weighed anything so keeping her up wasn't a problem.

"Are they coming Uncle Steve?" They hadn't been in the water long, he knew it would take time for the Coast Guard to take off, but he also knew minutes seemed like hours when you were waiting for help.

"They'll be here any minute." He pointed in the direction the chopper should come from, "watch that way and you'll see them soon." He silently prayed they would see them soon. He could tell by looking around they were getting pushed further away from where they had entered the water. That was good in the respect they were less likely to be bashed into the rocks, but at the same time it could push them out and they could get pulled into a rip current and quickly be sweep from the possible search area.

It was another couple minutes before he felt Grace move quickly, "There it is Uncle Steve, I see the helicopter!" Her voice trembling, no doubt from exhaustion and shock, but Steve was so proud with how Grace had held herself together, even after she saw that he was bleeding.

Steve watched the chopper hug the coast reaching the lookout; he noticed it hovering in place, "What are they doing Uncle Steve, why aren't they coming for us?"

"They are starting their search where we went in the water, they need a starting point. They will look around there then move out." Steve felt Grace shift some more, causing him to dip below the surface a moment.

"Uncle Steve!" Grace realized what she did when she felt water splash against her back. She had been lying on top of Steve and he had managed to keep nearly her whole body out of the water.

Bending forward slightly, Steve went from floating on his back to treading water as he coughed the water from his mouth. He'd held tight to Grace when he shifted, managing to keep her head above water, though the rest of her was nearly submerged. "I'm okay…" He coughed again, he could feel his strength giving out and knew it had to be the gunshot wound; normally he could spend hours in the water without feeling the level of exhaustion that was starting to plague him now. "Listen Grace, when the chopper moves out this way, I need you to start waving at them, okay. If you move different than the water around us it will make it easier for them to see us." He was not about to tell the little girl just how hard it was to spot a person in open water.

Steve needed her to focus on that as he turned all his focus to keeping them afloat. He had to concentrate on keeping his feet moving, keeping them above water. Grace was literally tied to him, if he started to give in to exhaustion and sink he would drag her down with him and that was not going to happen. "Look they moved some!" She started to wave her small hands, pausing when the chopper stopped again. "Why'd they stop?" McGarrett could hear fear in her voice now, trembling fear.

"Remember, search pattern." He breathed heavily, each breath now causing pain. "Keep waving, they'll see you."

Grace's arms started waving again, Steve could just make out the now blurring outline of the chopper and Grace's waving arms. He hated that his body was starting to fail him, but he would not give in until he knew the little girl with him was safe, though his vision continued to tunnel, he focused on the small ponytail holder that was still in Grace's hair, it had a little monkey holding a banana. He felt himself smile; he'd loved to have seen Danny buying that item, knowing how much his partner loved his daughter. The hair surrounding the monkey was soaking wet, plastered down from the weight of the water, but the little monkey smiled on oblivious of the danger surrounding it.

"Uncle Steve look!" Grace's cry caused him to try and focus further out, he could hear the helicopter coming closer now, could feel the strong downdraft of the blades, "They saw me Uncle Steve! They saw me!"

"Yes they did." Steve whispered out. He could just make the shape of the two rescue divers dropping into the water from the orange aircraft. "Start treading water Gracie, I have to release you so they can get you. Remember what I told you, I'm proud of you Grace and I love you." Just as the diver was within feet of them, Steve snapped the release that had been holding the rope attached to Grace, seeing her move toward the diver, he felt himself smile slightly before his world finally went dark.

_A/N#2: And before anyone gets upset with me, I will give you this, this story is **not** a death fic, honestly don't think I could do another one of those in this fandom, made me an emotional wreck last time.-so safe to say our beloved characters don't die-not permanently anyway. (I'll duck and run now)-Montez_


	6. Chapter 6

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 6  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

_A/N: Okay, I have no idea how real communication between rescue divers and the choppers they jump from works, so forgive me for winging it. Also any medical knowledge is mostly garnered from TV outside of basic CPR instruction. So now I'll slowly emerge from my hiding spot, click the little button for this chapter to post and quickly return to my safe place. Honestly this is not a death fic.-Thanks for the support as always-Montez_

"Diver one to CG1 I have young female, she's alert, attaching harness now, on my count pull us up…go!" Through the binoculars Chin and Captain Reynolds could see one of the divers being pulled up with a small figure attached to the front of him.

"Grace," Chin whispered as he watched the diver being pulled into the aircraft, "Thank God." Kelly felt the knot in his stomach untwist slightly, knowing they had been found and Grace was now safely inside the chopper.

"CG1 to diver two, what's your status?" The men on shore were listening to the relay between diver's and the pilot. They watched as the first diver jumped back in the water to assist his partner. "Diver two to CG1, I have a male, non-responsive need assistance from Diver one."

Chin kept his binoculars focused on the water where he could just make out the divers through the spray the chopper blades were throwing up. "Come on Steve…" Kelly whispered. Another agonizing twenty seconds passed before a voice crackled across the radio again, "Diver two to CG1...go!" They watched as the diver was pulled toward the helicopter a limp body secured to him. Chin watched as Steve and the diver were pulled in, the line again quickly dropped for the remaining diver. "CG1 to Captain Reynolds, both persons aboard, both divers in, we are making our way to Queens."

"Roger that, heading toward Queens." Chin handed the binoculars back to the captain with a quick nod in thanks before he and Malia ran back toward the parking lot, the needed to get to the hospital.

"Call Kono, tell her they're coming in, she needs to be there for Grace." Chin said to Malia as they raced from the parking lot, lights and sirens going.

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"Uncle Steve!" Grace started yelling as the second diver was pulled in."Hold on we've got him!" The man holding Grace shouted over the sound of the helicopter as the diver moved to unfasten Steve from the rescue harness. Another medic in the copter started placing blankets over Steve's unmoving body as the second diver made it in and the chopper banked right, heading inland.

Grace sat in the arms of a stranger, her small body shaking from shock and exhaustion, tears spilling from her eyes as she watched the still face of her Uncle Steve, "Uncle Steve!" She yelled again as the medic started to check Steve's vitals. He quickly moved himself between the little girl and the prone man on the floor of the chopper, looking across at the diver he spoke, "I don't have a pulse. We need to get a tube in and start compressions."

The diver straightened, doing his quick assessment required before CPR could be started, he placed his hands on Steve's chest and started a fast pace that would equal one hundred beats per minute. The Medic reached around grabbing an intubation tube and tilted Steve's head back, forcing the tube in, attaching a bag to push in air in the pause between sets of compressions, "What's our ETA?" he shouted over his com-link with the pilot.

"Four minutes." Was the reply as they continued CPR, Grace crying in the arms of the sailor put in charge of her.

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"Family of Detective Danny Williams?" A green-scrub clad man walked into the waiting room, several HPD officers still hovered in and near the room, but backed away when Kono and Charlie stood, Duke a step behind her. "I'm Officer Kono Kalakaua, Five-0; I'm here for Detective Williams."

"Please have a seat." The doctor motioned as he too took a seat. "Detective Williams made it through surgery without any complications. He was very lucky that the bullet missed any vital organs, he has some soft tissue and muscle damage but we were able to remove the bullet and thoroughly clean the area. His blood pressure is still lower than we'd like, but we are pushing units of blood and fluids. However, baring any unforeseen complications I believe Detective Williams should make a full recovery."

"Oh God, He's gonna be okay?" Kono was so relieved, but terrified at the same time, she still didn't have any word on Steve or Grace.

"With time, yes." The doctor smiled as Charlie pulled Kono into a quick hug, Duke putting his hand on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

"When can we see him?" Kono needed to see Danny.

"He'll be in recovery for the next hour, we are going to let him come out of the anesthetic and then gauge his pain level. Hopefully we'll have him in a room within the next couple hours." The doctor stood, as did the others.

"Maholo doctor." Kono responded, reaching out to shake his hand. They watched him reenter the door leading toward recovery.

"I'll let the other's know, but we are keeping someone on Detective Williams until we know for sure what's going on." Duke responded, taking a step toward the waiting officers.

Kono nodded in agreement, then looked at Charlie, "I need to call Chin."

Then just like before, as she pulled her phone out, it rang in her hands, Malia's name flashing across the screen. "Malia, did they find them?"

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"Malia, did they find them?" Kono's voice came across the phone; Malia could clearly hear the worry. She'd learned once her and Chin had started dating again that the taskforce her new husband was on were very close.

"Kono, the Coast Guard is bring them into Queens, Chin wants you to meet them, to be there for Grace." Malia relayed her husbands request, "We should be there in about twenty minutes."

"Are they okay?" Kono started moving toward the elevators that would take her back downstairs to the ER and the doors that led to the helipad.

"I'm not sure." Malia hadn't been close enough to hear exactly what had transpired over the radio Chin and the Captain were listening to. "We'll be there soon." Malia finished and hung up the phone, silence now filling the truck.

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Charlie was still right with Kono, "The Coast Guard is bringing them in now." She told him as they raced back toward the emergency room. Just as they reached the door they heard the large helicopter coming in to land. Several doctors and nurses were stationed just inside the door, waiting for touchdown.

Once it landed everyone rushed forward as the side door slide open. Kono stopped when she saw the man just inside doing what appeared to be compressions on the still form of her boss, "Oh God, Steve…" She whispered as several hands reached in and pulled McGarrett's lifeless body from the copter, a doctor quickly climbing onto the stretcher taking over chest compressions as the other's raced the gurney toward the sliding doors.

"Kono…" Charlie's voice in her ear had her turning back toward the helicopter, another man emerging with a small bundle cradled close to his chest, a doctor and several nurses moved in when the man laid Grace on the gurney.

"Grace!" Kono ran forward, none of the medical personal stopping her as she quickly paced the gurney.

"Auntie Kono!" Grace's scared voice called out, finally seeing another familiar face, her hand snaking out from the bundle of blankets to grab Kono's.

"It's okay Sweetie, you're safe now." Kono couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes as she looked into the scared face of Danny's little girl.

"Uncle Steve…" Grace cried out as they entered the ER and the stretcher she was on was quickly pushed into one of the trauma rooms.

"They are taking good care of him, don't worry…" Kono said, running her hand over the little girl's wet hair once the gurney came to a stop.

"Miss you need to leave now." One of the nurses tried to get Kono to move back, but Grace gripped the younger woman's hand tightly.

"KONO! Don't leave me!" Grace tried to get up, trying to get to the only person she recognized.

"Sh… it's okay Gracie, I'm not going anywhere, but you need to let them take care of you okay." Kono again smoothed the little girl's hair, trying to calm her.

Tears started to spill from the big brown eyes as they locked with Kono's, "I want Danno…" She whispered, "Where's Danno?"

Kono could see Grace fighting to keep her eyes open; she could see the fear in the small child's eyes from what she had been through. Leaning down Kono kissed Grace's forehead, "Danno will be here soon Sweetie, you rest and let the doctors take care of you, I'll stay right here with you, I promise."

Grace's grip on her hand tightened as her tiny body finally gave into the exhaustion. Once the small hand went lax Kono moved to the top of bed, out of the doctor's way as orders were shouted out for blood work and X-rays. The young woman watched, IV lines being started, the wet clothing clinging to the tiny girl being quickly cut away, warm blankets replacing the wet ones. Then the unit moved as one out of the room for the start of the first round of scans and tests that were needed to make sure Grace would be okay.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 7  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

Twenty minutes was forever when you were terrified for the welfare of your friends, your family. The phone call Chin took just as they were pulling into the hospital parking lot confirmed the suspicion that played in his mind since Duke's initial phone call that morning about the drive-by and Danny being shot. One of the gunmen that had gone after Steve talked, it was a hit and it was tied to the bust just days ago.

"Lt. Kelly," Chin turned when he entered the emergency room entrance to be met by none other than Governor Denning.

"Governor?" Kelly was honestly surprised to see the governor himself, Jameson would make appearances at the offices or hospital if needed, but Denning had kept a distance from the task force and only seemed to want to interfere if he thought they were doing something wrong.

Chin was in no mood to play politics, his main focus was his teammates, his friends. "Is there any word on Steve or Grace? I know Danny came through surgery."

"I'm waiting on the Chief of Staff, he's going to update us on the Commander's condition as well as Grace Williams. I believe Officer Kalakaua is with the young girl, from what I've gathered they are still running test on her." The two men were talking in a small enclave off the main hallway.

Malia had stayed back some once she saw the Governor, but moved closer to Chin, touching his arm, "I'm going to head up and check on Danny." She felt she needed to do something and if Kono was with Grace then she could at least be near Danny until they knew more about Steve.

Just as Malia left an older man in a white coat approached, "Governor Denning…" the man held out his hand, "I'm Doctor Evans, Chief of Staff."

The Governor shook hands then turned toward Chin, "This is Lt. Kelly, Five-0...please how are Commander McGarrett and Grace Williams?"

The doctor motioned for them to take a seat in the small sitting area, "Grace Williams is doing very well considering what she's been through. She's suffering from dehydration, exhaustion, mild exposure and understandably shock. Officer Kalakaua is currently with her up in the Pediatric Ward, but with time and rest Grace should be just fine." Dr. Evans saw relief cross Chin's face.

"Thank God." Kelly said softly. "What about Commander McGarrett?" He didn't like the fact the doctor seemed to be skirting the issue.

Taking a deep breath the doctor looked at the Governor then back to Chin, "When Commander McGarrett was brought in his was in full arrest, CPR was being performed. He was suffering from exposure, as well as, severe blood loss from a gunshot wound to his right shoulder." Evans watched Kelly pale at the fact Steve didn't have a heartbeat when brought in, he quickly continued, "We were able to reestablish a heartbeat and he was rushed up to surgery, I haven't received any further word on his progress. We have a waiting room set aside if you'd like to head up. I understand HPD is keeping officers on the surgical floor as well as the pediatric floor."

The Governor nodded, "Yes, we believe this was intentional and until we believe the threat is taken care of officers will remain."

Dr. Evans nodded, standing he motioned toward the elevators, "If you gentlemen would follow me I can take you upstairs."

Chin spoke as they stepped into the lift, "I'd like to check in on Grace and Danny first." Kelly wanted to be there for the first word on Steve once he came out of surgery, but he needed to make sure with his own eyes that Grace and Danny were okay.

"I understand, Pediatrics' is on the fourth floor and since Detective Williams injuries were not as serious as we first feared, he should be arriving in a private room within the next half an hour. It will be on the second floor." The doctor relayed.

Chin nodded as the governor spoke again, "If you don't mind I would like to come with you to check on Detective Williams' daughter." Again Kelly was somewhat surprised at the concern being shown by the man with him.

Dr. Evans pushed the button taking them to the fourth floor, leaving the governor and Chin before going back down to the third floor, hopefully to get an update on Steve's condition.

"Lt. Kelly…" Denning stopped just a few steps off the elevator, causing Chin to pause.

"Sir?"

"I could tell when you first arrived that you were surprised to see me here. I know I have kept my distance since reestablishing the task force and only seem to become involved when there is a problem, but I hope you understand the well being of everyone involved with law enforcement is a concern to me, especially with Five-0 and the fact it is high-profile. I know Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett are more than just teammates to you, they are your friends and I want you to know that I feel what happened to them and Grace Williams as a personal attack against what we all stand for. I know you all have reason to not trust the Governor's office after what happened with my predecessor, but know that if you need anything I am just a phone call away." Governor Denning had always felt the relationship between him and the task force was rocky and he hoped in the future that they could all come to a comfortable working arrangement, but in the back of his mind he knew, that and possibly even the future of the task force likely rested on whether Commander McGarrett survived.

"I appreciate that Governor, but I hope you understand it will take time for that level of trust to be built up after what we went through. However, right now my concern is my friends, but more importantly I see these people as my family and I really need to check on them." Kelly never considered himself a rude person, patient to a fault most times, but right now he needed to see Grace and then Danny, if for nothing else then to make sure for himself they were okay, but to also distract himself from the fact Steve wasn't.

A final nod from Denning had Chin leading the way toward the nurse's station to find Grace's room.

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Kono was sitting on the bed holding Grace, who was clinging to her, Charlie was sitting in a chair along the wall. Grace had passed out in the emergency room, but woke up screaming during the transfer from one of the scans the doctors had ordered, since then she had clung to the only person she knew and refused to allow anyone to touch her.

The small girl had finally dozed off when Chin and Governor Denning walked into the room. Kelly immediately made his way to the bed, ever since the first meeting of Grace Williams and the rest of the Five-0 task force, she had the entire group pretty much wrapped around her finger. They all loved the change that came over Danny when he was with his daughter and she was a tangible reason for why they did what they did.

"How is she?" Chin asked softly, placing his hand against her back, needing to touch her for himself to know she was really okay.

Kono glanced at the governor who had stopped at the foot of the bed, then back to her cousin, "She just dozed off, she's scared and confused. She keeps wanting Danny and Steve and I honestly don't know what to tell her."

Kelly noticed Kono's eyes filling, something twisted in his stomach, "Kono?"

The young woman laid her head over on the top of Grace's, tightening her hold ever so slightly, "She had to watch them doing CPR on Steve, one of the guys from the Coast Guard told Charlie that she yelled for her 'Uncle Steve' the entire flight." Kono's voice broke, her heart breaking for what Grace had witnessed.

Chin leaned in and kissed the little girl's head, then gave his cousin a gentle hug, "It's going to be okay, we have to believe that and we will get her through this. It will really help when she gets to see Danny. Do you know anymore?"

Charlie spoke up then, "I checked on him a few minutes ago, they were moving him to a private room. I saw Malia and she was going to go with him to make sure he got settled okay. The doctor's said they expect him to wake up anytime."

Kelly looked at the young forensic tech, "Thank you for coming with Kono, for being here."

Not exactly sure what else to say Charlie just nodded.

Chin looked back at Kono, "I'm going to go find Malia and check on Danny then I'm going to the OR waiting room to wait on news about Steve. As soon as I know something I'll come and let you know." Again the older man leaned in and gently kissed Grace's head, then Kono's before heading out to see Danny.


	8. Chapter 8

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 8  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

_A/N: Over one hundred reviews of my little story here. You guys are awesome in your wonderful support. I will say this story is now finished, but don't worry there are a few more chapters to come. I am trying to not disappoint you all and hope you continue to find this little venture worth your time. Thank you all again!-Montez_

The sounds were the first thing his conscious mind registered, the distant sound of voices, a soft beeping in the background, the faint hiss of air that he could now feel just below his nose. It took a moment for it all to come together, but the softness beneath him confirmed what his mind was piecing together, he was in the hospital.

Laying there he tried desperately to pull up the memories of just why he was there. The last time had been the God-awful experience with Sarin, definitely not something he ever wished to repeat, the sensation of not being able to draw in a breath, the waking up to his entire body hurting and the University of Hawaii's marching band practicing in his head. But this time it was a dull ache in his side and just a foggy feeling in his mind, he heard the door to the room open and finally decided if he wanted to know what was wrong with him he needed to open his eyes.

Fortunately the room was dimly lit, he could just make out a shape next to his bed, the pale blue shirt back told him the person was facing away. He tried to clear his throat to talk, but that elicited a ripple of pain across his side and moan was the only thing to escape. The person next to his bed turned, "Nice to have you back with us Detective Williams…" The young woman moved about, pushing the call button and starting a quick set of vitals, "The doctor will be here in just a minute and we can give you something for the pain, can you tell me how you're feeling?"

Danny took a couple shallow breaths, the pain had eased some since he'd stopped moving, he then looked at the young woman, "Side…hurts to move…" He subconsciously tried to move again, gaining another grimace. "What happened?"

His mind still hadn't pieced together why he was there, but just then the doctor walked in. "Detective Williams I'm Dr. Stewart, how are you doing?"

Williams sarcastically thought that if the man had been in the room just thirty seconds ago he'd heard Danny's reply to the nurse, who had just asked the same question, but he was starting to feel tired again and the pain was increasing some. "Side hurts…what happened?"

The doctor moved about pulling back the blanket to check Danny's side, another moan escaping him when the doctor touched the area. He heard the man tell the nurse to retrieve something before she left the room, "Do you remember anything about what happened Detective?" The doctor was watching his patient.

"No…" Williams hated his memory for failing him, but was getting agitated that the doctor repeated his question back to him.

"You were involved in a shooting this morning, fortunately the wound wasn't too serious, none of your vital organs were damaged. There was a concern with the amount of blood lost but that is being replaced and your stats are looking good." Dr. Stewart replied.

At the doctor's words everything seemed to flood back, being outside the Palace, the car coming into the lot, the sound of automatic gunfire, "Anybody else hurt?" Danny remembered Duke being with him, he remembered pushing the older officer down.

"No one else was injured." The doctor answered.

"Was my team notified?" It was in that moment he remembered that Grace was with Steve, they had planned a hike, Danny had gotten a call, but Steve and Grace had gone ahead, he was going to meet them later. "Someone needs to contact Steve, Commander McGarrett, my daughter's with him, do they know yet?"

Danny noticed a slight tenseness in the doctor's posture, but didn't really think much of it. "Officer Kalakaua and Lt. Kelly are here…" Before the doctor could finish the nurse returned and Williams noticed another woman with her.

"Malia?" He was a little confused again.

"Hey, Danny how are you doing?" Malia stopped next to the bed, she could see the confusion on his face but she didn't want to be the one to have to tell him about Steve or Grace and she hoped Chin would make his way to the room soon.

"Confused…" Danny's head was starting to hurt. "Is Chin here? I need someone to call Steve, he's got Grace." He noticed a look cross her face at the mention of his partner and his daughter and it caused a knot to start twisting in his already hurting stomach. "Malia?"

"Chin should be here in just a minute." Malia could see worry starting to build in the injured man's gaze.

"Something's wrong…isn't it? Malia, what's going on?" Danny pushed himself up further in the bed, hissing as pain registered again, his hand automatically going to his side, "Damn it." He ground out.

"Danny you need to take it easy, you've only been out of surgery a short time." Malia was trying to calm the man before her, but somehow knew it was a futile attempt at best.

"I need to know what's wrong." He growled.

Just then the door opened and Malia thanked the Gods that were listening as Chin walked into the room. Danny looked up and saw the older man, "Chin, what's going on?" If Danny could clearly see the look of concern on Malia's face, the look on Chin's almost threw him into a panic; it was not only concern, but fear.

Chin moved quickly to the bed, glancing at Malia who shook her head, wordlessly telling Chin they hadn't told Danny anything yet. "Go see if you can get Kono down here." Chin told his wife, he knew they needed to try and get Grace into Danny's room as soon as possible, especially with what Chin was getting ready to tell him.

Forcing past the pain Danny reached out and grabbed Kelly's arm, "Chin what the hell is going on?"

Taking a deep breath he looked at his friend, "Danny you were shot in a drive by in front of the Palace."

Kelly took a moment to make sure Danny was following him, "Okay, the doctor said I was shot, but there's something else."

"Danny it was a hit, the gang we busted went after you." Chin could almost see the wheels clicking into place in Danny's mind before he continued, "I need you to understand something first off, Grace is okay. She's been admitted for observation but I promise you physically she is okay…do you understand? Malia is going to get her now, Kono hasn't left her side since she was brought in."

Panic filled Danny's face; the rush of adrenaline that flooded his system dulled the pain in his side. The heart monitor start shrilling at the dramatic increase in his heart rate, "What? Where is she? What happened to her? Why is Kono with her? Where the hell is Steve?"

Chin had to put his hands on Danny's shoulders to keep the younger man from coming up out of the bed. Kelly noticed the doctor say something to the nurse, who left again, before answering Danny he spoke to the Dr. Stewart, "Don't give him anything yet, once he sees his daughter it will help…just give us a minute." A quick nod from the doctor told Chin the man understood, he then turned back to Danny, honestly knowing that what he was going to say next was not going to help calm his friend, "Danny, they went after Steve too."

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Malia had taken the stairs, she needed to get to the forth floor as quickly as possible, she needed to arrange for Grace to be taken to her father's room. Chin had told Malia of Danny's devotion to his daughter and she knew as a doctor how parents reacted at the thought of their child hurt or in danger. Making a quick stop at the nurse's station Malia informed the nurse she needed a wheelchair and for Grace's doctor to be paged down to Danny's room.

Kono looked up as Malia rushed into the room, "Malia, what's wrong?"

Malia looked at the equipment Grace was attached to, fortunately it was just an IV line and she knew that could be easily attached to a chair. "I've got the nurse bringing in a wheelchair and I'm having Grace's doctor paged to Danny's room. He's awake and Chin was getting ready to tell him about Grace and Steve."

Understanding Malia's urgency Kono gave Grace a gentle shake, "Grace," She whispered, seeing scared eyes opening to meet hers, "Hey Sweetie, we're gonna go for a little ride okay, your daddy wants to see you."

Grace's eyes filled with tears, "Danno?"

"Yes Honey, Danno wants to see you." Kono shifted to the side of the bed as the nurse wheeled the chair in, "Do you want me to hold you or do you want to sit by yourself?"

It was a wordless tightening of the grip the small girl had on Kono that answered that question. Charlie moved forward to help keep the chair in place while the nurse moved Grace's IV bag to the rod on the back of the chair. Malia helped Kono stand then get situated, the nurse grabbed one of the blankets from the bed and wrapped it around Grace.

Within minutes they were in the elevator, Malia knelt next to the chair, "Grace, when you see your daddy he's going to be in a hospital bed, do you understand?"

Grace's big brown eyes were still filled with tears as she looked at Malia, "Is Danno hurt?" They hadn't told Grace about her father's injuries, just for the simple fact they didn't want to scare her more than she had been after what she'd been through and witnessed with Steve.

"Yes Sweetheart, Danny's hurt, but he's awake and really wants to see you." Malia had always been told she had a wonderful way with patients, but right now she wished she could do more for the little girl in Kono's lap.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 9  
Disclaimer:See chapter one

"Danny, they went after Steve too."

It took Danny's mind a moment to completely understand, the same guys that came after him had also gone after Steve, while Steve had Grace. Chin was shocked to see anger flash in Danny's eyes, "What the hell did he do that landed my daughter in the hospital? What crazy ass SEAL shit did he pull that put my little girl in a hospital bed? Is that why he isn't here? Because he knows if I get my hands on him I won't be responsible for what I do to him!"

The doctor moved forward, Chin could see the syringe in his hand, but he held up his hand, even though Kelly could see the toll the information he'd given Danny was taking, he also knew that as soon as he saw Grace and Kelly got a chance to explain what happened Williams would hopefully calm down.

Just as Chin was getting ready to tell Danny about Steve Malia came through the door, holding it so the wheelchair following behind her could enter. In that instant Danny's eyes landed on the small form huddled in Kono's arms, "Oh God, Grace…" Williams tried to move again, Chin holding him back as the chair stopped and Kono stood.

The moment her daddy's voice reached her ears Grace tried desperately to get to her father, "Daddy!" she cried as Kono stood up, quickly getting Grace to her father's bed.

Grace calling him 'Daddy' told him more than anything just how terrified his little girl was. She looked so small in Kono's arms, so fragile, her face was pale, her eyes red and puffy from the crying she'd done and even before she was placed on the bed beside him he could see her body shaking. As soon as Kono placed his daughter beside him Danny grabbed a hold of her tightly, ignoring the pain flaring through his side, he needed to touch her, to feel her in his arms to know she was okay. "God Grace…" He whispered into her hair as he buried his head on top of hers, he could feel her tiny arms holding onto him for dear life, her small body shaking from uncontrollable sobs. However it was the next words out of her mouth that nearly stopped his heart.

"Daddy…Uncle Steve's dead."

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Chin sat in one of the chairs in the dimly light waiting room set aside for them just outside the OR. The Governor had left word that he needed to return to his office, but as soon as Commander McGarrett's condition was known he wanted to be contacted. Kelly glanced at his watch; he'd been sitting there nearly an hour when a cup of coffee was held in his line of sight. "Thought you could use this, since we missed ours this morning." Malia's soft voice brought Chin's eyes from the generic tile of the floor to the beautiful, but worried face of his wife.

"Thanks." He said, first accepting the cup, then her smaller hand in his when she sat next to him.

"You've always been the most optimistic person I know; well except for that one time when you thought I wouldn't want to be married to a cop IA was after…" She gave him a little smile when he glanced at her, he couldn't help the hint of one he returned, "You have to believe everything will work out, that Steve will pull through this."

Chin honestly didn't know what to say, his mind had been reeling since that first phone call from Duke and to be totally honest he really hadn't had time to process everything that had gone on over the last few hours. But it was the memories of what transpired in Danny's room a short while ago that played through his mind.

_Just over an hour ago_

"Daddy…Uncle Steve's dead."

Four words spoken through the heart wrenching sobs of Grace Williams seemed to suck the air from the room. Kono turned to Charlie, who was just behind the wheelchair. Malia moved closer to Chin who was still next to Danny's bed. The doctor and nurse took that moment to step back, closer to the door to give the group a moment, but still close enough should Danny need assistance.

At those four words Danny's thought process seemed to skip a beat, again he could feel his heart racing, his breath seeming to catch in his throat as he swallowed desperately to stop the bile he felt starting to rise from his stomach, _'Daddy…Uncle Steve's dead' _Echoed through his head as he fought to process those words spoken by his terrified daughter.

Chin watched Danny lose what little color he had, the older man had forgotten that the last image Grace had of Steve was the Coast Guard divers doing CPR on his lifeless body. Kelly watched as Danny's head turned quickly to look at him, the younger man's blue eyes now filled with panic, fear and guilt. Just seconds ago Williams had been cursing his partner for Grace ending up in the hospital; Kelly had known then that Danny had never considered something had happened to Steve.

"Chin?" It was his whispered name, spoken from a man not exactly known for his quiet tone that helped Kelly find his voice again.

Chin didn't exactly know how to start, but he decided to start with the last image Grace recalled, "From what I know from speaking to the Chief of Staff, Steve was in full arrest when the Coast Guard brought him and Grace in." Kelly leaned down a little, placing his hand on Grace's arm so she would look at him, "Grace, I know what you saw, but you need to know that Uncle Steve is in surgery right now, do you understand?"

It seemed to take a second before Grace understood what that meant, "Uncle Steve's not dead?" Her voice hiccupped at the question, a small glimmer of hope flashed in her gaze.

Standing again, Chin glanced at Danny, then back to Grace, "The doctors were able to get his heart going again and they took him to be operated on, so no Honey he's not dead." Kelly added the word 'yet' in his own mind, then silently berated himself for the doubt he felt toward Steve's survival.

"Wait a minute…" Danny had finally found his voice, "Why did she think Steve was dead? What did she see? And why did the Coast Guard bring them in?" Grace was still burrowed close to her father, a dull ache starting to filter again through his body, but he refused to acknowledge it, he needed to know what happened that had left his daughter believing Steve was dead.

Several minutes passed as Chin told the younger detective about the phone call from Duke concerning him, then Grace's and Steve's phone call just moments later. Kelly tried to explain what he heard in Steve's voice when the younger man had told him to call the Coast Guard. "Danny he honestly believed he didn't have another way out, he thought he only had two shooters at the time and he was running out of ammo. It turned out there were five men sent after him. According to HPD there would have been no way Steve could have possibly made it past those men and back to the parking lot. When he told me to call the Coast Guard he knew he was going to have to go into the water, that it was the only way to try and protect Grace."

Grace had sat quietly against her father as she listened, when Chin paused she looked up at Danny, "Uncle Steve told me to tie his rope around me, then he attached it to that thing you use when you go climbing…he told me what we were going to do and I was really scared, but I was even more scared of the men with the guns." Grace took a deep breath, her hitched breathing easing some now that she was with her father and knew her Uncle Steve wasn't dead anymore. "Uncle Steve told me to wrap my arms and legs around him really tight and put my head against his chest…Danno, his heart was beating really fast, just like mine was. I think he was scared too, but he didn't act like it. He told me to make sure I took a deep breath when he jumped, he said you and Kono told him I was a good swimmer and he said he was a good swimmer too."

Danny watched his daughter as she spoke about what had happened between her and Steve at the lookout, he could just image the calm Steve had been trying to maintain to help keep his daughter calm in such a terrifying situation. "Daddy, Uncle Steve told me something before he picked me up and started running."

Danny touched his little girls face, he could see everything that had happened playing in her eyes, "What did he say to you?" Williams really needed to know, needed to know what words of comfort his best friend had spoken to Grace before taking a life or death jump in an attempt to save Grace's life.

"Uncle Steve told me I was brave and he was going to do his best to get us out of there okay, then he told me to always remember my Danno loved me and that he loved me too." Grace's eyes filled again as she said those words.

Danny lost it, the emotions he'd held at bay over the few minutes everything was being told to him finally broke free as he pulled Grace in tight to him and tears slipped free of his eyes. His breath catching at the thought that in those last few seconds where his friend, his brother had to make that final decision to risk a jump to try and save Grace's life or face the gunmen closing in on them, knowing neither would survive it, Steve had offered the ultimate comfort to his daughter. Reminding her of the love her father had for her and giving her a piece of his own heart in telling her that he loved her too.


	10. Chapter 10

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 10  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

"Lt. Kelly?" The sound of a man's voice brought Chin's thought back to the moment. He had watched Danny come to the realization of exactly what Steve had done to try and protect Grace, that, along with the fear he'd had for his daughter finally broke the hardened detective. Chin and Malia had left Kono and Charlie with Danny and Grace, whose doctor okayed it for her to remain in her father's room, not that they would have been able to separate the two without sedating both. Kelly had needed to try and find out if there was any word on Steve's condition.

Kelly looked up from the cup he'd been staring at, then quickly stood, "How is he?"

"Please have a seat." The doctor motioned back to the chairs, to which all three of them returned. "I'm Dr. Adams, I operated on Commander McGarrett. The commander suffered from a gunshot wound that entered through the back of his right shoulder, exiting through the front. Now normally a wound like this would be considered minor if treatment had been received quickly, but from what I understand happened leading up to the time the commander arrived here at the hospital there have been some complications." Dr. Adams paused to make sure the man before him was keeping up, the doctor then glanced at Malia, whom he recognized and knew she would help clarify any confusion.

"What kind of complications?" Chin didn't know if he really wanted to know, he was afraid of the doctors next words and just what they would mean for Steve, for the whole team.

Taking a deep breath the doctor decided to start with what he was sure the couple before him already knew, "As you know Commander McGarrett arrived here in full arrest, his heart stopped due to loss of blood volume. If pressure had been applied immediately blood loss would have been at a minimum, but that fact he was in the water and had to swim, that motion caused the area of damage to increase, tearing the tissue around the wound. Because of that motion and the fact he was in the water for as long as he was, it never allowed the wound to clot. Now we are giving him units of blood to get his levels up, but his stats are still dangerously low." Again the doctor paused, it was a lot of information to take in and he wanted the officer before him to understand the severity of his friend's condition.

"You said there were some complications, what else?" Chin needed to know everything now. If it was just this one complication that would be bad enough, that would be hard enough for Steve to fight back from, but Kelly had a feeling there was actually worse news to come.

Dr. Adams continued, "With the fact the wound remained open and Commander McGarrett was in the water over a period of time sepsis has set in." The doctor saw Chin pale slightly, "We are hopeful that we have caught it early and have him on a strong course of antibiotics, but with the weaken state his body is already in, we are extremely concerned. In addition we have to keep a close watch on his lungs; he aspirated some of the ocean water. We hope the antibiotics that we already have him on will help against the possibility of pneumonia setting in, but again this is a grave concern at the moment."

Chin sat, taking in what he had just been told. Yes Steve was still alive, but for just how long was the most pressing issue. Kelly leaned forward, his head held in his hands. He could feel Malia's hand on his back, gently rubbing it in comfort, but right now nothing could bring comfort to his frayed mind, too his aching soul. Danny had been shot, Grace had almost died and now Steve could quite possibly be dying and he felt totally useless to do anything about it.

It was another minute before he rubbed his hand over his face and looked back at the doctor. "What exactly are his chances?" Again it was an answer he really didn't want, but needed to know.

Dr. Adams leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his hand clasped in front of him as he looked at the man across from him, "In all honesty Lt. Kelly, I am not a firm believer in statistics. I've been a doctor long enough to have seen people that should have died walk out of here completely recovered and people I was sure would recover one hundred percent die. I don't like to give odds or percentages in regards to my patient's chances of recovery but I will tell you, your friend has a very hard road ahead of him. Yes his body is very weak right now, maybe the weakest it will ever be, but I know the mind is a wonderful thing and if that mind wants to fight, it will. Now yes there are times when a mind that desperately wants to fight is up against a body that just has nothing left to give, but I like to remain optimistic no matter the circumstances. I know the reality of what your friend is up against, but I know we will help his body to keep fighting as long as his mind wants the same thing."

Chin thought about that, it somehow gave him a glimmer of hope that these people would fight for Steve as much as he knew Steve would want to fight. "One thing you'll come to learn about McGarrett, he doesn't give up easily. If anyone has a chance of getting through this it would be Steve." Saying those words out loud seemed to motivate Kelly, seemed to finally banish those thoughts that wanted to question whether Steve would walk away from this. Yes there might be a long, hard road ahead of him, but Chin knew that since the age of sixteen Steve's life had been anything but easy, however he was still standing and stronger because of it. "When can I see him?"

The doctor stood, Chin and Malia following. "He'll be moved into the ICU in about an hour, you can visit him then. We are keeping him on the ventilator until we feel his body is strong enough and he will remain in the ICU for at least the next couple days or until he starts to show signs of improvement."

Kelly reached his hand out, "Maholo doctor, for everything. I need to go and let the rest of our team know how Steve is and I have a couple phone calls to make then I'll be back. Please have someone find me if anything changes." With a nod in understanding the doctor returned through the recovery area doors, thankful in knowing his patient had such a good support system and silently prayed the man possessed the will to live that his friends firmly believed him to have.

50505050505050

Four days passed with only marginal change in Steve's condition, the only visible improvement had been the fact the ventilator had been removed. Though his body was still weak, the medication had helped stem the tide of damage the sepsis could have caused and had miraculously kept the pneumonia the doctors had feared would develop away.

Danny stood, leaning against the wall of his partner's hospital room, his hands deep in his pockets. He had been released the day before and since the DA had been able to get a short reprieve Danny made his Grand Jury appearance that morning. Now it was just after noon and he was again watching his partner 'sleep'.

Williams had learned over the last couple days HPD had apparently taken a page out of Steve's play book and hit the remaining gang members hard and fast. Those the officers couldn't find had by all accounts made their way off the island, trying to no doubt regroup on the mainland. But according to FBI reports that task had been nearly impossible. For all intents and purposes all operations had been halted, it was a rare thing for an entire enterprise the size and scale that this gang possessed to be nearly totally dismantled, but it had. With the Grand Jury indictments here on the Islands, as well as those on the mainland, the threat had all but been eliminated. Danny felt himself breathe for the first time since Saturday morning, when hell had rained down on Five-0 in that initial spray of gunfire.

He still had trouble wrapping his mind around what Grace and Steve had gone through, what his partner had done in a desperate attempt to save Grace's life at nearly the cost of his own. Danny had always known, from the moment that the beautiful brown-eyed buddle was placed in his arms ten years ago that he would die to protect her. He was her father; it was his duty but Steve…

Danny knew his partner was hell bent on protecting the people he served as head of the task force, just as he was sure the man never thought of his own welfare throughout his Naval career. Over the time he'd known Steve, Williams knew the man would lay his life down to protect him as well, so he didn't know why he seemed to be struggling with the fact Steve had done the very same thing for Grace.

Grace…the image of his daughter huddled in Kono's arms still woke him when he could sleep. The fear he had seen in her face, heard in her voice when he finally saw her, it would be a very long time before he could shake that. And it would probably take even longer to shake the echo of those four terrifying words she had spoke as she clung to him, _"Daddy…Uncle Steve's dead."_

His daughter had witnessed so much that day, then for her to have watched Steve die in front of her, it still made him sick to his stomach. After Chin had explained what happened, after Grace had revealed what went on between her and Steve before they had gone into the water. After Danny's mini breakdown and Grace had finally drifted to sleep still clinging to his chest and Chin had left to find out about Steve, Charlie had spoken up.

Danny remembered teasing Kono about finally going out with Charlie Fong, but the fact the young man had remained at the hospital, not only for Kono, but as support to the people that were important to her showed the strong character that Danny always felt the younger man possessed. Charlie had been the one person the Coast Guard divers had spoken to. He had been with Kono as they watched the chopper come in carrying Grace and Steve. Once Steve had been rushed in and Kono went to Grace's side, one of the divers pulled Charlie aside and gave him a rundown of how the two were found. It had been Charlie that helped him understand just how close everything had been, relaying that the divers witnessed the fact Grace was tethered to Steve through the entire ordeal and it wasn't until the diver was within arms reach of Grace that McGarrett released the rope keeping them together. The diver told Charlie that in the instant he grabbed the small girl's arm Steve had lost consciousness and slipped below the surface of the water.

Danny shook his head, knowing Steve had fought with the very last ounce of energy his damaged body had until he knew for sure Grace was safe. Williams remembered the first time they were allowed in to see Steve. He had still been in the ICU and it took some pleading and a few tears on Grace's part for the doctors to relent and allow the young girl to visit Steve with her father and Chin.

When Danny was wheeled into the room the person in the bed looked nothing like his larger than life partner. The man in the bed looked frail, broken, that was not Steve McGarrett. The ventilator was pushing air into his lungs, bags of blood, fluids and heavy duty medication ran in lines to his still arms. Various leads, lines and tubes seemed to come from everywhere, the man's dark hair and days worth of stubble gave his face a ghostly look, a paleness that was only second to that of a corpse.

Danny had felt and heard Grace start sobbing as they neared the bed. When Chin stopped the chair Williams felt his little girl move to stand, she was still in her own hospital gown, a blanket draped over her shoulders, held close against the cool of the hospital and the chills that would still occasionally shake her small body from the shock of what she'd been through. Both men watched her near the bed, tears streaming down her face as she reached her small hand up and laid it against Steve's cheek. "I'm okay Uncle Steve…you kept me safe just like you promised. I need you to get better now so I can give you a hug. I love you Uncle Steve." Her voice nearly a whisper, but her fear, worry and love filling the room as she stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on the still man's cheek.

It had taken both Danny's and Rachel's vehement promise that she could come back to the hospital everyday until her Uncle Steve woke up before the small girl agreed to leave her father or uncle. And over the last two days Rachel had held to that promise. She knew her daughter had been through something terrible and both of Grace's parents knew that the only person that was going to be able to start her getting past it would be Steve.

And so Danny stood watching his partner, his brother, more grateful than he would ever be able to express for what the man had done for him, praying said man would wake soon to help start the healing process that they all so desperately needed.


	11. Chapter 11

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 11  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

"Danno!" The door to Steve's room opened and Danny's arms were soon filled with his daughter.

"Hey Monkey, how are you doing today?" Williams sat down, pulling Grace into his lap since he was unable to pick her up, the injury to his side still to new to strain with much more than walking.

"I only had one bad dream last night," Danny looked up and met Rachel's gaze, a slight nod from his ex-wife confirmed what they knew would happen. "But mommy let me come and get in bed with her."

"I'm sorry about your bad dream; do you want to talk about it?" Danny had always made a point to try and get Grace to talk about her bad dreams, hoping to make her understand that she really didn't have to fear them and talking about them made things seem less scary.

Grace leaned into her father, her eyes going to the still form in the bed across the room, "Uncle Steve was lost in the water and I couldn't find him." She said softly.

Silence settle over the room a moment before Rachel leaned in, kissing her daughter, then looking at Danny, "I'll be back to get her in a few hours." Williams nodded and the woman left the room.

Turning his attention back to his daughter Danny kissed her head, "Well you can see, he's safely out of the water now. I know it was really scary and I want you to know if you want to talk to me about anything, anytime you know I'm here for you, just like always, okay?"

Grace nodded her head, "I love you Danno." She whispered. It had been a mantra she'd started over the last few days, several times over their time together the words would slip out as she leaned into her father's embrace.

"I love you too Monkey." He tightened his arms around her.

Another couple minutes passed as both Williams' watched over Steve, "Uncle Steve is still lost though."

Grace's voice had that slight tremble of fear it seemed to have acquired these past day when she'd mention Steve's name.

"Maybe just a little, but if I know him I know he's trying really heard to find his way back to us." Danny had no doubt Steve was fighting.

"Can I help him?" The question was so innocent, so endearingly child-like in its simplicity.

"What do you have in mind?" Danny really couldn't tell his daughter there wasn't anything any of them could do, that it was all truly up to Steve, but it didn't stop him from wondering what her mind felt was something she could do to help.

"I brought him a present." Grace hopped from her father's lap, going to the bag her mother had place in the chair near the door. After rummaging around in it a few seconds Grace pulled out a small grey stuffed animal, with large sad-looking eyes. Danny couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when he realized what it was. "You said Uncle Steve was a SEAL and he is a really good swimmer just like real seals, and I saw this when mommy walked me past the gift shop downstairs and I told mommy how good of a swimmer Uncle Steve was and she agreed that this little seal would be perfect company for him when we can't stay with him at night."

This had been the most animated and talkative his daughter had been since Saturday and again it was that child-like innocence that seemed to help make sense of the senselessness of the last several days. "I think that is a wonderful idea, that way he's not alone."

Grace nodded and again floored Danny with her thought process, "Uncle Steve is never alone as long as he knows we love him." She was so serious in that statement it was almost humbling to see the depths of the love his daughter possessed.

Pulling his little girl into another tight hug Danny replied, "You're right Monkey, you are so right."

"Can I put it up next to him now?" Looking at her father expectantly she took a step toward the bed. It was another thing he'd noticed about Grace, every time she was in the room with Steve she made a point of touching his arm or his hand, he'd even seen her rubbing his cheek and nearly every time she was asking him to wake up and reminding him that she loved him.

"Okay." Danny answered, watching Grace approach the bed. He was a little surprised when he saw her actually climb up on the bed next to his partner this time, maneuvering herself in the small space between the edge of the bed and Steve. "Whoa, easy Grace, you can't be up there, you need to watch the machines attached to Steve. There's not enough room Sweetie, you need to get down." Danny had moved quickly from his chair to the bed, wincing as his side pulled from the abrupt movement.

Danny nearly took a step back when Grace looked at him, the intensity in her eyes was something he had never seen before, "Uncle Steve's lost, he helped me when we were in the water so I wouldn't get lost, I have to help him now." Her words were so forceful and full of determination as Danny watched his little girl lay herself down in the small space, gently placing the plush seal on his partner's chest; he didn't have the heart to move her. She was so determined to help and honestly if her believing she was helping Steve actually helped her, Danny would give her a little time lying there.

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Water had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember. From his first steps along the beach behind his childhood home, his tiny fists holding securely to his mother's guiding fingers, it had been his life. He was the preverbal fish to water, a natural within its depths. He may have been the football jock in high school, but his first love had always been the water.

His mother's death had defined the rest of his life, the day of her funeral he had returned home with his father and sister, walked clear through the house without saying a word, stripping out of the black suit his father had ordered him to wear and dove beneath the waves. He had no idea how far out he had swam that day, only using the pain he felt inside to propel him further. That was the only time Steve McGarrett didn't return home from a swim.

Mary had become hysterical, his father frantic when it grew dark and sixteen year old Steve hadn't returned. John had known the three days between his wife's death and the funeral had been the darkest of his life and of his children's lives, but the death of his mother had taken an unimaginable toll on Steve. John had watched his full of life son collapse into himself. He had withdrawn from everyone and everything in those short three days. The elder McGarrett would find his son sleeping on the beach where he had sat all night, refusing to come inside, refusing to eat. But as he stood on the beach that night, the sun sinking lower on the horizon and there was no sign of his son, John's life shattered all over again.

John McGarrett had contacted his precinct and the Coast Guard, an all out search was launched for the younger McGarrett and as time stretched into the wee-hours of the morning it was Mamo Kahike that found the unconscious youth on a deserted stretch of beach at daybreak the next morning. Somehow Steve had ended up nearly ten miles from his home, suffering from hyperthermia and exposure; he lay unconscious in a hospital bed for two days.

It was during those two day John finally decided to send his children to the mainland, Mary would go to her aunt in Los Angeles and Steve would go to live with John's cousin in Annapolis. That was where the seed for Steve's future Naval career would be planted. Mary had cried and Steve had refused to acknowledge his father as he boarded that flight, his father was sending him away from his home, what was left of his family and from his beloved ocean. Yes there was another ocean near his new home, but it was cold and gray, not the warm blue that comforted him throughout his life to that point. No, the new ocean reflected his mood for those first few years until he learned to channel his feelings into becoming the best Naval Officer, and ultimately the best SEAL he could possibly be.

Steve never truly realized just how much he'd missed those waters out back of his childhood home until he returned to bury his father, the same man that had sent him away, the same man with whom his relationship had remained fractured since that day at the airport.

But the first time he stepped back into those waters it was like he had never left them, the feeling of security, of peace it had always given him, if only for the time he was within its grasps, returned. He was finally home.

However the water he felt now, that closed in around him, was cold and dark and lifeless. It was not peace he found here, but a soul-crushing fear. A fear he had again lost something precious, something of great importance that he had to find, that he couldn't live without finding. There had been times when he thought he'd found it, felt it brush against him in the depths, heard its whispered voice in the distance, but it was never truly there, seeming to always slip from his grasp in the moment he thought he'd found it.

He was getting tired, his body, his mind and his soul were warring within him, it was the battle between winning and losing, between fighting and giving up, between life and death. Death was something that had first been visited upon him at sixteen and slowly shaped and forged his life from that point. It was something he had learned to accept in his life, to not fear. When you don't fear for your own death you can focus on what needs to be done, no matter the cost.

Yet it was the fear of death for others, those closest to him, that he cared about, that he loved that scared him more than anything else. It was that feeling he fought against, the feeling that he had again lost something, someone of great importance to him to that shadowed grip and it had been that which had been taunting him in the depths of the black water around him, sending the ghostly whispers that were haunting him.

But then he felt the feather-like touch again, turning himself in the waters, straining his eyes to see the presence he knew was near him, straining his ears to hear the faint whisper on the air. In that moment the whisper grew louder, he could finally sense a direction and pushing himself to his ultimate limit he started to move through the dark waters, toward the voice that was growing louder, toward the faintest hint of light he could finally make out on the horizon of darkness around him.

"I know you're still lost in the water Uncle Steve, but I'm here to help you find your way back to us." The words were so clear now, the dawn breaking beautifully now in the dark world he'd been trapped and he noticed the cold, black water giving way to the warm, blue water of his home as he saw a small figure standing on the beach he was nearing. A small figure that was waving at him, a tiny grey object held tightly in her other arm; it was when his feet touched the shifting sands beneath the waves that he could clearly see the face of the person waving him home, "Gracie?"

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"Gracie?" The mumbled word was barely heard, but it caused Grace to jump drawing Danny's attention to his daughter.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace said as she moved to set up, her eyes never leaving the face of the man beside her.

"Grace, what is it? What's wrong?" Danny hadn't heard Steve's whispered word; he didn't know what had garnered the reaction his daughter was exhibiting.

"Danno, Uncle Steve…he said my name." Her big brown, tear-filled eyes looked at her father before turning back to her Uncle. She reached out and took his hand, "Uncle Steve please wake up."

Danny wanted to believe his daughter, he too needed his partner to wake up, but as he stepped near the bed he didn't see any change in his best friend, "Grace honey, maybe you just thought you heard Steve."

"No Daddy, he said my name!" Danny looked at his daughter, his mind flashing to something Steve had said many months ago, _'you say I have a face, you my friend have a tone.' _Danny wondered if this was what Steve had meant. The tone of his daughter's voice as she looked at him, told him there was no way she only thought she heard Steve's voice.

It was in that moment that Danny finally heard what his daughter had; Steve's muffled voice whispered again, "Gracie?"

Grace smiled at her father when she heard him take in a sharp breath, "See…Uncle Steve, please wake up for me, please." The little girl had tightened her hold on Steve's hand, her eyes watching for any movement in her Uncle's face, but it was his hand that moved first as he closed his fingers around hers. "Daddy look!"

Tears were now streaming down Grace's face, hell Danny was pretty close to losing it too at this point. He reached over and pressed the call button to alert the nurses that Steve was possibly waking up. But it was the quiet, but excited "Hi Uncle Steve." That drew Williams gaze from the tightened fingers around his daughters hand to the second best sight he'd seen in as many days, it was that of his friend's, his brother's eyes finally open as he stared at Grace.

"Hi Gracie." Steve whispered before Grace laid over on him and he slowly moved his arm up to encircle her.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve and Grace  
Chapter 12  
Disclaimer: See chapter one

_A/N:Well, this is it, the final chapter. This story started as an image of Steve having to jump off a cliff with Grace in his arms and went from there. This has been another amazing ride and it has all been because of you guys, the alerts, favorites and record breaking reviews have left me humbled and amazed that I could write something so many would take interest in, that so many would feel the emotions that I felt writing it. I know, we all need stock in Kleenex, I keep a box right next to my computer because I never know when I'll read or possibly write something that starts the waterworks. I hope you all enjoyed the ride and that this last chapter brings it together as you invisioned. This one only includes Steve, Danny and Grace. I know some will wonder about Chin and Kono, since they were such a big part of the early chapters, but ultimately this was Steve's and Grace's story and I felt it needed to end with the two of them (and of course we know Danny needed to get his two cents in). So here is the final chapter, I hope you enjoy and again THANK YOU all so very, very much!-Montez_

"Thought I'd find you here." Danny's voice was unusually quiet. "Is this your way of getting back in the saddle?"

Steve turned slightly, glancing at his best friend over his shoulder, "Getting back in the saddle?"

Moving closer Danny sat down next to Steve, "Yeah, the old saying…meaning you don't give up when something bad happens, you face your fear."

Steve sat for a second, he had faced many fears in his life. It was the nature of the life he led, fear really had no place in it, so had always channeled that emotion into determination. But this time, this time fear was trying to bury its talons deep into his flesh, trying to take root in his soul. He'd been home from the hospital for five days, it had been two weeks since the attacks that had rattled Steve to his core and nearly claimed not only his life, but Grace's as well.

When he had finally woken up in the hospital and saw Grace sitting next to him on the bed, for an instant he had felt himself let go of the fear that had gripped him the moment those first bullets had been fired at him that day. However, over the course of the following days the fear slowly returned, it was the fear of what could have happened, of what he had done, what Grace had gone through, what she'd witnessed. It was a fear that caused him to withdraw into himself again, he had smiled every time he watched Grace walk into his hospital room, but the little voice in his head kept whispering that it wasn't safe for her to be around him, that because of him she could have been killed. So once he was released from the hospital he had come up with excuses anytime Danny said Grace wanted to visit, in his mind it was better to keep her at a distance, so she would be safe.

Steve had been sitting silent for several minutes, so long that it started to worry Danny, who reached out and touched his friend's arm, "Steve?"

"I was afraid…" Steve's voice was so quiet, barely above a whisper. The fear and sorrow Danny saw in his partner's eyes when McGarrett looked at him nearly took Danny's breath. "I had never been so terrified in my life. She could have died Danny." Williams noticed his best friend's, his brother's eyes fill with unshed tears. "Because of me you almost lost Grace."

"It's because of you I still have Grace!" Danny's voice became harsh, why didn't Steve see that he had saved Grace's life that day, at nearly the cost of his own.

"She could have died from this jump." Steve didn't want Danny's forgiveness; he wanted the Jersey native to yell at him, to hate him for putting his daughter in such danger.

"She WOULD have died from a bullet if you didn't make the jump!" Danny stood now, he was really getting angry. "My God Steve…" Williams ran his hand through his hair then turned back to face his friend, who was still seated. "Five men Steven, five men were sent after you and my daughter, she may not have been the target but she would have been collateral damage but she wasn't. You both are alive because she was with you. I know you, if you had been alone you would have thought you could take all five men and probably ended up dead. Now God knows Grace should have never have been in that situation, but she could have just as easily been with me, they could have came at me when we were leaving my place or Rachel's or hell the damn grocery store. It was their mistake to try and take you out in your element." Danny waved his hand around, his arm encompassing the area around them. "You noticed something was off, that crazy SEAL sixth-sense thing you have started flashing danger and you reacted, protecting my daughter. You used that superhero training I'm always on you about to save her life."

Danny was on a roll, he'd had nightmare's ever night about what could have happened that day, what he could have lost but didn't because the man before him. "Look at that…" Danny pointed in the direction of the ocean laid out before them from Kahala Lookout. "Do you even think I would have done what you did? No because my mind would not have worked like yours, I don't have the skills you have to have pulled off what you did. I would have tried to find a way through those damn woods and probably ended up dead and despite my best efforts Grace would have probably been lost too. To me there would not have been another way out, but you saw what more rational people wouldn't have seen. You didn't see this cliff as a no way out situation; you saw it as a much safer escape route than the one that was in front of you. You stayed calm just like you always do, you talked my daughter through what was going to happen and kept her calm and you saved her life, don't you understand that? YOU SAVED GRACE'S LIFE!"

Again Danny took a step away, he needed to collect his thoughts. Steve had remained quiet and Williams didn't know whether to be worried or grateful for the silence. Danny had one more thing to tell his partner, something that he hoped made the man realize that what he had done was the right thing to do, "Do you know what Grace told me in the hospital?"

Steve looked at Danny, who was again knelling next to him, "She told me she knew you were scared even though you didn't show it." The blond man could see the slight look of shock in McGarrett's face, "Do you know how she knew?"

"How?" Steve had tried so hard to hide the fear he had about Grace's safety that day, he believed he had done a good job of it until this moment.

"She said that when she laid her head against your chest, like you had told her to, that your heart was beating as fast as hers was and she knew you were just as scared as she was." Danny again saw his partner's eyes fill as Steve took a deep breath, trying to push the emotions away, "But you know what she said that you told her to make her not so afraid?"

Again it was an emotion-filled gaze that met Danny's, "She said you told her how brave she was and you told her that no matter what happened you wanted her to always remember that her Danno loved her and that you loved her too." Danny pulled an object from his pocket and switched it on.

It was Steve's cell phone that he had dropped that day when a bullet connected with the edge of the picnic table, throwing a large splinter at his face. HPD had collected Grace's discarded backpack and camera, as well as, Steve's things, including his phone. McGarrett watched as Danny pushed a few buttons, then flipped through a few screens before turning the palm-size item toward him, his voice quieter. "This is what you saved that day."

The image on the screen was the picture Steve had totally forgotten he had taken that day, it had been just moments before all hell broke loose. Of that instant when Grace had first taken in the view from the lookout, it was a picture that revealed the wonderment of the moment on a child's face. "You saved her so she could have more moments like this, moments where her innocents and awe will shine through and make everything we do worth it."

Steve reached a slightly shaking hand up and took his phone from his partner, looking closer at the photo, a moment captured in time forever. "Danny?" Steve's voice broke as he looked back to his partner. Danny smiled at Steve when he saw that his friend finally understood his choices that day were all the right ones. Without another word Williams pointed behind Steve, who turned from his spot sitting on the edge of the cliff he had jumped off that day, to see the little girl he had made that jump to save. "Gracie?"

McGarrett stood as quickly as his healing body would allow, taking a few steps forward before his arms were filled with the child that had clung so tight to him that day, whom he'd held equally as tight, "God Gracie…" It seemed to be the first time he had actually allowed himself to really feel her in his arms, to feel her alive and safe.

"You saved me that day Uncle Steve…now it's my turn to save you." Grace whispered into his ear as she squeezed him tight.

Closing his eye's, feeling the love from the little girl in his arms Steve remembered her voice in that darkness he had been in before he woke up in the hospital. It was her voice that gave him hope, gave him direction out of those dark waters that had surrounded him, that had been stealing his strength, his hope. He remembered seeing her presence on the shore as those cold, dark waters became the warm blue of home. It had been Grace that saved him and led him back home.

Hugging her tight again he whispered, "You already did Gracie, you already did."


End file.
